The present invention relates generally to bathroom cabinets and, more particularly to a two-stepped bathroom cabinet which provides increased storage.
In most private residences, including homes and apartments, a cabinet is typically provided on a wall of each bathroom for the purpose of holding various medicines and personal items, such as shaving supplies, first aid supplies, oral and other personal hygiene items, and the like. Typically, the door of the cabinet is provided with a mirrored outer surface and the cabinet is positioned over or along side of a sink. In most installations, the cabinet is intended to occupy what would otherwise be dead space within a bathroom wall, and is typically a standard size, with a width intended to fit between two upright standardly spaced wall studs.
While such prior art cabinets include shelves generally as deep as the thickness of the wall, the width of such cabinets is generally limited to the distance between two upright wall studs, typically about fourteen inches. While many of the personal items need the space provided, smaller items, such as over-the-counter medicine bottles and prescription drug containers, tend to be pushed to the rear and become hidden behind other items. It is not unusual to "lose" such smaller items where they cannot be seen. Although some such cabinets employ doors which are larger then the outside dimensions of the cabinet, the doors are hinged to one side of the cabinet.
Another storage possibility is a cabinet which is flush mounted against the outer surface of a wall. Such cabinets are typically higher and wider than cabinets mounted between the wall studs, but are seldom very deep, as any substantial depth to the cabinet is taken from the room space. Such cabinets provide an advantage in more conveniently storing and displaying smaller items without them appearing "lost," but are limited in the size of the items which can accommodate due to the limited depth. Larger (deeper) items must be stored elsewhere.
Others have suggested a combination of both cabinet styles. To date, however, such combinations have been chiefly for retrofit installations where a first, deeper cabinet is intended for use within an existing cabinet space cut into a wall, and a second flush mount cabinet is intended to surround the first cabinet. Typically, the two cabinets of such combination cabinet design are initially completely independent of each other, such that the second cabinet may be positioned independently of the first cabinet, often compromising the additional storage space which could be provided. Further, as separate units, the manufacture of the two cabinets is expensive, and installation is difficult and time consuming, which has added to the overall cost.
It would be advantageous to provide a modular, two-stepped cabinet which could provide both shallow and deep storage areas, would be applicable to both new and retrofit installations, and would be significantly less expensive and more convenient both to manufacture and install.